Trolley-wheel



No. 622,2l4. Patented Apr. 4, I899. S. W. FLETCHER.

TBOLLEY WHEEL.

(Application filed. July 25, 1898.)

(No Modal.)

WITNESSES. INVENTOR.

{M4}, BY W wad- ATTORNEY.

m: cams PETERS co. wow-urns. wAsr-usmon. o. c.

NITED STATES. PATENT OFFICE.

SILAS W. FLETCHER, OF LOWELL, MASSACHUSETTS.

TROLLEY-WHEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part Of Letters Patent N0. 622,214, dated April 4, 1899. Application filed July 25, 1898. Serial No. 686,804. (No model.)

T at whom it may concern.-

I Be it known that I, SILAs W. FLETCHER, of Lowell, in the county of Middlesex and Commonwealth of Massachusetts, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Trolley-\Vheels, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to trolley-wheels, its object being to provide and improve means for enabling the whole or a part of a new tread or bearing-surface to be applied to the wheelbody when the old tread is worn; and said invention consists in the devices and combinations hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a side elevation of a wheel embodying said invention; Fig. 2, a central cross-section of the same on the line 2 2 in Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a

side elevation of a side washer or guide-washer and an intermediate washer or tread-washer; Fig. 4, a section of a part of all the washers, detached, on the line 4 A inFig. 3.-

The body of the wheel comprises two like side plates A A, which may be of cast metal, but are preferably of sheet-metal stamped by suitable dies in a well-known manner. The

side plates A A are preferably shaped to fit a coreB, of any suitable material, said core being circular in cross-section "and with the side plate forming the hub C of the wheel.

The outer edges of the side plates are turned in or hemmed at a to strengthen and stiffen said side plates and to prevent them from being bent by the trolley-wire and cross connections and supports and to prevent said edges from marring the trolleywire. Between the hub C and the outer edges of the side plates said plates are provided with annular depressions a, from the bottoms of which said plates at a incline outwardly to the hems a. -The space between the side plates at the depressions a is filled with washers or annular plates D D, the larger washers D acting as guide-plates to direct the Wheels onto the trolley-wire and being flared at cl to fit the inner faces of the side plates and the smaller fiat washers D serving as the tread or bearing surface of the wheel. The

above-described parts of the wheel are held together by bolts E, driven through said side plates and retained therein by nuts 6, turm ing on the threaded ends 6 of said bolts, said bolts lying in holes F, formed partly in the inner edges of the washers D D and partly in the curved outer surface of the web I) of the core B, thus preventing the side plates, guide-washers, tread-washers, and core from turning with respect to each other.

Of course the side plates and the washers D D are made of suitable electrical conducting material, as copper or brass, and the core B may also be of similar conducting material.

A suitable journal-sleeve, of conducting material and of any usual construction, is retained in the side plates and core in any usual manner, the journal-sleeve Gr being represented in Fig. as an open metallic helix g, having its interspiral spaces filled with graphite g in the customary manner.

The tread-washers D may be externally notched or serrated in a well-known manner to cut or break ice from the trolley-wire, such notches or serrations being indicated by dotted lines at d in Fig. 3.

Where several tread=washers are used on the same wheel, the wear will be greater on the middle washers than on those at the side, and the least-w0rn tread-washers may continue to be used after replacing those that are worn.

By removing the nuts c all the parts may be separated and the worn washers 'may be replaced by new ones.

The above-described device has the merit of great cheapness, as the side plates are duplicates of each other and the tread-washers are all alike, thus requiring but three sets of dies for the manufacture of these parts. The side plates will last indefinitely, the guide-washers will wear for a very long time, and the treadwashers when worn maybe quickly replaced at a very slight expense.

I claim as my invention 1. The combination of the side plates, guides washers, arranged between said side plates, a

series of concentric tread-Washers, arranged between said guide-washers, and bolts, to clamp all said washers between said side plates, v

2. The combination of a core, side plates,

arranged on opposite sides of said core, a sefication, in the presence of two attesting Witries of concentric tread-washers, surrounding nesses, this 20th day of July, 1898. said core between said side plates, and bolts, 1 a passing through said side plates and through SILAS D LETCHER' 5 holes, formed partly in said core and partly \Vitnesses:

in said washers. .ALBERT M. MOORE,

In Witness whereof I have signed this speei- LEWIS F. LONGMORE. 

